.among the heath on our foreft. And befldes, the larkers, in
dragging their nets by night-, frequently catch them in the wheat-
ftubbles.; while the bat-fowlers, who take many red-wings in the
hedges, never entangle any of this fpecies. Why thefe birds,, in
the matter of roofting, fhould differ from all their congeners,
and from themfelves alfo with refpedt to their proceedings by day,
is a fa£t for which I am by no means able to account.
I have fomewhat to inform you of concerning the moofe-deer\
but in general foreign animals fall feldom in my way : my little
intelligence is confined to the narrow fphere of my own
obfervations at home.
L E T T E R XXVIII.
TO TH E S AM E .
StLBORNE, March 1770.
o ft Michaelmas-day 1768 I managed to get a fight of the female
moofe belonging to the duke of Richmond,, at Goodwood i but was
greatly difappointed, when I arrived at the fpot, to find that it
died, after having appeared in a languilhing way for fome time,
on the morning before. However, underftanding that it was not
{tripped, I proceeded to examine, this rare quadruped: I found
it in an old green-houfe, flung under the belly and chin by ropes,
and in a branding pollute; but, though it had been dead for fo
fhor.t a time, it was in fo putrid a ftate that the ftench was hardly
2 . {importable.
fupportable. Tbelgrand diftindtion between this deer, arid any
other fpecies that I have ever met with, eojffifted in the flyange
length of it’s legs; on which it was tilted up mjjc.h in the manner
of the birds of thzgrall/e order. I meafured it, as they do an horfe,
and found that, from the ground to the ,w-ither, .it was juft five
feet four inches; which height anfwers exactly to fixteen hands,
.a growth that few horfes arrive at : but then, with this length of
legs, it’s neck was remarkably fhort, no more than twelve inches;;
fo that, by ftraddling with one foot forward and the other backward,
it grazed on the plain ground, with the greateft difficulty,
between it’s legs : the .ears were vaft and lopping, and as long as
the neck; the head was about twenty inches long, and afs-like.;
and had fuch a redundancy of upper lip as I never faw before,
with huge noftrils. This lip, travellers fay, .is efteemed a dainty
diffi in North America. It is very reafonable to fuppofe that this
creature fupports itfelf chiefly by browfing of trees, and by
wading after water plants ; towards which way of livelihood the
length of legs and great lip muft contribute much. I have read
fbmewhere that it delights in eating the nymphaa, or water-lily.
From the fore-feet to the belly behind the fhoulder it meafured
three feet and eight inches : the length of the legs before and
behind confifted a great deal in the tibia, which was ftrangely
long; but, In my hafte to get out of the ftench, I forgot to meafure
that joint exadtly. It’s fcut feemed to be about an inch long;
the colour was a grizzly black; the mane about four inches long ^
the fore-hoofs were upright and fhapely, the hind flat and fplayed.
The fpring before it was only two years old, fo that moft probably
it was not then come to ids growth. What a .vaft tallbeaft muft
a full grown flag be ! I have been told fome arrive at ten feet and
an half! This poor creature had at firft a female companion of the
fame